Walmart Executive Highlights AI's Evolution from Analytics to Autonomous Action
In a significant shift for large enterprises, artificial intelligence is no longer confined to analytics but is advancing into agentic systems capable of taking direct action. Balu Chaturvedula, senior vice president and country head at Walmart Global Tech India, emphasized this transition, noting it compels changes across business models, operational processes, and talent management strategies.
From Traditional to Generative and Agentic AI
Chaturvedula detailed Walmart's AI journey, which began with traditional AI applications in supply chain management and decision support systems. Over the years, the company progressed to generative AI and is now accelerating its adoption of agentic AI. "Traditional AI systems provide extensive analytics that require human intervention to act upon. In contrast, agentic AI can execute tasks autonomously without direct human oversight," he explained. Humans will continue to set constraints, guardrails, and configurations, while agents handle the execution, enhancing efficiency and scalability.
Real-World Applications in Retail
One foundational retail challenge where agentic AI is making a substantial impact is product cataloguing. With nearly a billion product items, Walmart has leveraged this technology to refresh its entire catalog to the highest accuracy levels with highly trustworthy content over the past year. Additionally, predictive models have significantly shortened the apparel cycle—from trend identification to store shelves—by 18 weeks. In customer service, agentic AI has reduced the time manual agents spend answering questions by 40%, freeing them to focus on more critical tasks.
Organizational Changes and Talent Transformation
Chaturvedula stressed that speed has become a key differentiator in today's competitive landscape. "Intent addresses only half of the problem. Combining speed with intent completes the entire story," he stated. To manage this shift, companies must implement multi-level talent transformation programs, foster culture change, and ensure psychological safety to alleviate employee apprehensions. While employees are eager to learn new tools, adoption also requires a mindset shift, particularly in accepting machine-generated outputs. "We have trained humans to write new code but not necessarily to fix existing code," he noted, adding that newer employees often adapt more quickly due to their lack of preconceived notions and sometimes outperform senior engineers in areas like prompt writing.
Implications for the Future
This move towards agentic AI signals a broader trend in the technology sector, where automation and intelligent systems are reshaping how businesses operate. As enterprises like Walmart lead the way, the focus will increasingly be on integrating these systems seamlessly into workflows while nurturing a workforce capable of thriving alongside advanced AI technologies.
